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DESCRIPTION 



PRATTSVILLE (N. Y.) TANNERY. 



Prattsville, Greene Co. N. Y. 

November 27, 1847. 
T. B. Wakeman, Esq., Sec'y of the American Institute, New York. 

Dear Sir — Having been honored by the American Institute with a 
medal for the best sample of hemlock-tanned sole leather, in compliance 
with your request, I have drawn up a brief but comprehensive account 
of the processes and extent of the manufactures carried on at my estab- 
lishment in Prattsville ; together with several tabular statements, designed 
to illustrate its importance as an industrial pursuit. 

As I have worked and talked about the business for many years, and love 
to do so still, I know not how a Mechanic can answer, except by stating how 
he did, and what he did. I am aware that, through you, I am addressing 
the State of New York, whose chief commercial city imports a greater 
number of hides, and carries on a more extensive trade in leather, than 
any other city in the world. In this cold clime, every one must realize 
that next to food and raiment, leather is the sole for man. The improve- 
ments which I have made from time to time in this branch of business, 
have been the result of experience ; and demonstrate satisfactorily to my 
own mind, that however important are the discoveries of science, they 
would be of little value, without that practice, which must ever prove the 
ultimate test of utility and the sure talisman of success. 

Throughout the whole world American enterprise has become a pro- 
verb. Go where you will, from the ice-bound North to the regions of the 
torrid zone, in any path where civilized man has ever trod, upon the land 
or the sea — and you will not fail to encounter evidences of the peculiar 
genius of our people. You will find their adventurous enterprise pushing 
itself into every nook and corner of the globe, where the materials and op. 
portunities of commerce may be found, or industry may be sure of a re- 
ward. Nor is this spirit impelled by the pressure of any general poverty 
or want of employment at home, which bears so heavily upon some of the 
European nations; but it is nourished by a natural love of independence, 
harmonizing with the theory of our own institutions — by a sense of self- 
reliance and the hope of fortune, which more or less actuates every individ- 
ual. It is a spirit of progress, the spirit "of the age, in which our country 
seems destined by Providence to take the lead. 



2 






But it is at home that the workings of American enterprise are to be 
seen on the grandest scale. Here, untrammelled by ancient customs, un- 
curbed by despotic institutions or royal monopolies, the American artizan 
finds a fair field for the exercise of his .powers. His talents and energies 
are ever in a state of productive activity. 

He toils, he invents, he wills. Cities arise in the wilderness ; the habi- 
tations of man take the places of the huts of the savage ; and the wheat 
fields move their yellow ears where, but a few months before, stood 
the beautiful ever-green hemlock of the forest. It need not be denied 
that the American, in all this, is mainly actuated by the selfish principle, 
the desire of acquisition, which is the very life of commerce and enterprise; 
but we do maintain, that the pursuit of money here is dignified, as it is no- 
where else, by a sense of the vast ultimate effects of industrial causes upon 
the destiny of the country. The American feels that he is working not for 
himself alone, but in furtherance of the glorious experiment of building up 
a free people, whose protecting shield may yet cover the whole continent. 
His natural pride partakes of this peculiar sentiment of expansiveness, the 
grand feature of the country and climate ; and he glories not only in his 
country as it is, but he looks forward to a future which he may almost 
hope to see realized, when the valley of the Hudson alone shall contain 
its millions of people, and when the cities and towns of the Pacific, by way 
of the great pass of the Rocky Mountains, the Oregon Railroad, and the 
Hudson, shall seek a market for their treasures in the emporium of Nortfe 
America. 

It would be a curious subject of speculation to inquire into the causes 
that have conspired to mark the American people with such an extraordi- 
nary degree of enterprise ; but such an inquiry would lead me altogether 
too far from the immediate object of the information which you desire. 
I shall therefore proceed, without further digression, to give you a succinct, 
historical, and statistical account of my tannery, which I may, I hope, 
without incurring the charge of egotism or vanity, be allowed to say has 
been conducted with sufficient energy and skill to realize for me a com- 
petency, while it has been the means of spreading comfort and plenty to 
all directly or indirectly connected with its operations. And having 
closed the operations of the tannery, I maybe allowed here to remark that 
the improvement in the business of a community, and aiding a society 
where such an establishment exists, always paying promptly, and liberally 
rewarding the diligent laborer, can only be appreciated by the few who 
understand its advantages. And I may in justice to myself express the 
proud satisfaction of having conducted this vast business without litigation 
— -truly accomplishing what I said to my neighbors in the outset — that " I 
came to live with them, not on them." 

A little more than twenty years ago, the district of country in which it 
stands was a perfect wilderness. Although just back of the well-known 
Catskill range, and not more than thirty-six miles from the banks of the 
Hudson, the great thoroughfare of our interior trade, the depths of its hem- 
lock forests, the solitude of its mountain glens, and the flashing of its" 
tumbling brooks, had been explored only by the foot of the hunter, and 
were as little known to the public as the slopes and valleys of the Rocky 
Mountains. 

In 1824 I visited this district, and my judgment at once decided me to 
select it as the most advantageous location for the prosecution of my enter- 



3 

prise. It has ever been my motto, that to will and to do are one and the 
same thing. I accordingly went to work, and in less than ninety days a 
tannery was erected, and ready to commence business. 

My tannery is an immense wooden building, 530 feet in length, 43 feet 
in breadth, and two stories and a half high. Within this area are con- 
tained 300 vats, tanning over 60,000 sides a year, with conductors to 
draw the liquor to the pump, affording about 46,000 cubic feet of room 
for tanning purposes. A large wing, forty feet by eighty, extending 
over the stream, contains twelve leaches, six of them furnished with 
copper heaters, containing about 12,000 feet, and also the bark loft, 
through which, in the course of the year, passes more than six thousand 
cords of bark. The mills through which it is ground are capable of grind- 
ing over a cord of bark per hour ; and it has connected with it a pump of 
sufficient capacity to deliver 1,000 feet of " ooze ? " or water charged with 
tanning, in thirty minutes. The beam-house contains thirty vats, equiva- 
lent to 7,640 cubic feet. It has connected with it three hide-mills for soft- 
ening the dry Spanish hides, and two rolling machines, capable of rolling 
500 sides of leather per day. Outside of the building, but connected with ' 
the beam-house by an underground communication, are eight stone sweat- 
pits, with pointed arches and flues. The pits are of the most approved 
size, being in area 10 feet by 14, and- in depth 8 feet, with a spring of 
water at one corner. 

Since I first commenced business, the gain of weight in converting 
hides into leather, has been increased nearly 50 per cent. That is, that 
from a quarter to a third more leather can now be obtained from a given 
quantity of hides, that at the time when I learned my trade at my father's 
tannery, conducted in the old-fashioned way, some 40 years ago. 

The great improvement in weight seems to have been gained by the 
judicious use of strong liquors, or " ooze," obtained from finely-ground 
bark, and by skilful tanning. 

The loss and wastage upon hides, from hair, flesh, etc., may be esti- 
mated at from 12 to 15 per cent. In order to produce heavy weights, the 
hides should not be reduced too low in the beam-house, and should be 
tanned quickly with good strong liquors, particularly in the latter stage of 
the operation. To green hides, particularly, nothing can be more injuri- 
ous than to suffer them to remain too long in weak " ooze." They be- 
come too much reduced, grow soft, flat and flabby, lose a portion of their 
gelatine, and refuse to "plump up." 

On the other hand, however, the effects of an early application of 
" ooze," that is too strong and too warm, to green hides, is very injurious. 
It contracts the surface fibres of the skin, tanning at once the external 
layers so " dead," as it is termed, as to shut up the pores, and prevent the 
tanning from penetrating the interior. This renders the leather harsh 
and brittle. It will, from this, be seen, that in the question of the proper 
strength of liquor alone, there is room for the exercise of the greatest 
judgment and the most extensive experience. In the impossibility of 
adopting fixed rules to the innumerable variety of cases, nothing can be 
depended upon but the judgment of the practical tanner. 

In softening hides, and preparing them for the process of tanning, a 
great deal also depends upon the judgment of the person superintending 
the operation, inasmuch as the diversities in the qualities and character- 



Soaking. 


Temperature. 


Sweating. 




50° 60° 


70° 40° 


50° 60° 


70° 


Days. Days. 


Days. Days. 


Days. Days. 


Days. 


8 to 12 6 to 8 


3 to 6 15 to 20 


12 to 16 8 to 12 


2 to 3 


7 to 9 5 to 7 


2 to 5 15 to 20 


10 to 15 6 to 8 


2 to 3 



istics of hides render it impossible to subject them to anything more than 
a general mode of treatment. 

In " sweating," the character of the hides, and the temperature, are 
essential, but ever-varying considerations. As a general rule, however, 
the milder the process of preparing the hides for the bark, the better. 
Unnecessarily severe or prolonged treatment is inevitably attended with 
a loss of gelatine, and a consequent loss of weight and strength in the 
leather. Too high a temperature is particularly to be avoided- In almost 
every lot of hides, particularly Oronocos, however, there are generally 
some that prove very intractable — resisting all the ordinary modes of 
softening. For such, a solution of ashes, potash, or even common salt, 
will be found to be beneficial ; and peculiarty so in hot weather. As I 
have said, no precise rule can be given as to the length of time required 
for the preliminary process of soaking and " sweating," so much depend- 
ing upon the qualities of the hides, and the temperature at which these 
operations are conducted. 

The following table may, however, be found useful in conveying an 
approximation to o definite idea of the practice in my tannery ; — 



40° 
Days. 

Buenos Ayres hides 10 to 12 

Caithagena and Laguira 8 to 12 

I would here remark that I changed the process from liming to sweat- 
ing, for the sole leather, in 1836 — the only change in tanning I have 
made for twenty years ; and for heavy sole leather, it has been proved to 
be quite as good as liming, if not better and somewhat cheaper ; besides 
yielding a greater gain of weight, and when well tanned, making leather 
more impervious to water. Liming and " bating," however, for npper 
and light leather, is preferable ; and, if the same improvements had been 
adopted with the lime process, of strong liquor and quick tanning, it is 
not yet certain that the same results would not have been attained. 

Salted hides do not require more than two-thirds the time to soak ; but 
generally rather longer to sweat. After the hides are prepared for tan- 
ning, the next process is, what is commonly called " handling," which 
should be performed two or three times a day in a weak " ooze," until 
the grain is colored. New liquors, or a mixture of new and old, are pre- 
ferable for Spanish or dry hides — old liquor for slaughter. They are then, 
after a fortnight, laid away in bark, and changed once in two to four weeks, 
until tanned. Much care and judgment is requisite in proportioning the 
continually increasing strength of the liquors to the requirements of the 
leather in the different stages of this process. 

The liquors should also be kept as cool as possible, within certain 
limits, but ought never to exceed a temperature of eighty degrees ; in fact, 
a much lower temperature is the maximum point, if the liquor is very 
strong ; too high a heat, with a liquor too strongly charged with the tan- 
ning principle, being invariably injurious to the life and color of the lea- 
ther. From this it would seem that time is an essential element in the 
process of tanning, and that we cannot make up for the want of it by in- 
creasing the strength of the liquor, or raising the temperature at which the 
process is conducted, any more than we can fatten an ox or horse by giv- 
ing him more than he can eat. 



5 



It may be questioned (if anything may be doubted in the present im- 
proving age) whether any patented schemes for the more rapid conversion 
of hides into leather, will be found, on the whole, to have any practical 
utility. 

I have mentioned the injurious effects resulting from too strong a solu- 
tion of the active principle of the bark ; on the other hand, the use of too 
weak solutions is to be avoided. Hides that are treated with liquor below 
the proper strength, become much relaxed in their texture, and lose a por- 
tion of their gelatine. The leather necessarily loses in weight and com- 
pactness, and is much more porous and pervious to water. The warmer 
these weak solutions are applied, the greater is this loss of gelatine. To 
ascertain whether a portion of weak liquor contains any gelatine in solu- 
tion, it is only necessary to strain a little of it into a glass, and then add a 
small quantity of a stronger liquor. The excess of tanning in the strong, 
seizing upon the dissolved gelatine in the weak liquor, will combine with 
it, and be precipitated in flakes, of a dark curdled appearance, to the bot- 
tom. At the Prattsville Tannery the greatest strength of liquor used for 
handling, as indicated by Pike's barkometer, is 16° ; of that employed in 
laying away, the greatest strength varies from 30° to 45°. 

After the leather has been thoroughly tanned and rinsed, or scrubbed 
by a brush-machine or broom, it will tend very much to improve its color 
and pliability to stack it up in piles, and allow it to sweat until, it becomes 
a little slippery from a kind of mucus that collects upon its surface. A 
little oil added at this stage of the process, or just before rolling, is found 
to be very useful. 

Great caution is necessary in the admission of air in drying, when first 
hung up to dry. No more air than is sufficient to keep the sides from 
moulding should be allowed. Too much air, or, in other words, if dried 
too rapidly in a current of air, will injure the color, giving a darker hue, 
and rendering the leather harsh and brittle. To insure that the thick 
parts or butts, shall roll smooth and even with the rest of the piece, it is 
necessary that the leather should be partially dried before wetting down 
for rolling, and that when wet down, it should lay long enough for every 
side to become equally damp throughout. 

The following table, condensed from the tanning records of 200,000 
hides, exhibits the time required to tan the various description of hides at 
my establishment, during a period of four years. It will be seen that the 
same description of hides require different times in different years. This 
is owing mainly to a difference in the temperature and weather of the 
several seasons, and the quantity of sides and strength of liquor in the 
vats, and partly to the different conditions and qualities of different lots of 
the same descriptions of hides. 



1841 — San Juan 
Orinoco.. 



No. of 
sides. 

7,500 
3,500 

" 1,900 

« 9,000 

Laguira 22,000 

Orinoco 6,500 

Matamoras.... 1,100 

« .... 2,300 

San Juan 6,500 



Time of 


tann'g. 


mo. 


ds. 


4 


20 


5 


15 


6 




6 


10 


7 


15 


5 


15 


5 




5 


20 


4 


15 



1841— Montevideo.... 
1842— Honduras 

Buenos Ayres.. 

Chagres 

1843— Orinoco 

Montevideo . .. 

Rio Grande.. .. 
1844 — Buenos Ayres.. 

Orinoco 



No. of 
sides. 

5.800 
3.600 
10,500 
1,700 
1,100 
2,700 
5,800 
6,500 
5,400 



Time of 
tann'g 
mo. ds. 



20 

10 



20 
20 



Table continued. 



1844— Orinoco 2,800 6 10 

Laguira 5,100 7 ... 

Rio Grande.... 1,100 7 ... 

Buffalo 2,000 5 ... 

Buenos Ayres.. 2,000 6 ... 

Rio Grande... 8,500 6 10 



1844— California 1,200 6 20 

Buenos Ayres.. 900 7 10 

6,500 5 10 

Orinoco 1,500 4 20 

Rio Grande 2,100 5 ... 

4,000 5 10 

From the above table, it will be seen the average time of tanning in 
1842, was five months and seventeen clays; of 1843, five months and 
twenty-two days ; of 1844, six months ; and of 1845, six months and eleven 
days. Average of the whole time, five months and twenty-seven days. 
The average weight of the leather was over eighteen and one-half pounds 
per side. This, according to the best authorities we have at hand, is con- 
siderably below the time employed in England. There, it is no uncom- 
mon thing for eight and ten months to be employed in tanning a stock of 
leather, and some of the heaviest leather, it is said, takes even fourteen 
and eighteen months. Such deliberation undoubtedly insures a fine qual- 
ity of leather, but it may be questioned whether there is not a great loss 
in the increase of weight — a loss of interest on capital, and in conse- 
quence an unnecessary enhancement of price, which does not suit the 
American market. 

In order to show the amount of business done, I have carefully collected 
and tabularized from my books, the following statistics of the " Prattsville 
Tannery" for twenty years, in tanning about 1,000,000 sides of sole lea- 
ther : — 

STATISTICS OF THE PRATTSVILLE TANNERY FOR TWENTY YEARS VARIOUS MATERIALS USED, 

AND LABOR EMPLOYED. 

6,666 acres bark land=10 square miles=18 cords to the acre=120,000; at 

$3 per cord $360,000 

No. of days' work peeling and piling do days 118,555 

4 trees to the cord trees 475,200 

120,000 loads or cords=284,000,000 lbs cords 132,000 

444 acres of woodland=32,000 loads, or cords, worth $32,000 

135,380 bushels of oats, at 2| 6 per bushel 41,967 

1,200 tons of hay, at $8 per ton 9,600 

313,000 days' work in tannery=l,000 years' labor, at $14 per 

month $162,000 

Board, at $1 50 per week 78,000— $240,000 

500,000 hides, weighing 15,000,000 lbs 1,750,000 

Cartage, 5,700 loads of 2,600 lbs. each, (one pair horses.) 

1,000,000 sides sole leather at 18 lbs. per side lbs. 18,000,000 

Hides and leather, together 33,000,000 

Cost of carting ; $52,800 

3,000 lbs. per load of leather, one pair of horses 6,000 

2,600 " hides, " 5,700 11,700 

Freight of hides and leather between New York and Catskill $30,000 

Equal to 18,000,000 lbs. of leather, at 17 cents per lb 3,060,000 

Lost and worn out about 100 horses, at $75 each 7,500 

Cost of wagons, at $250 per year 5,000 

Insurance on stock 12,000 

Yearly expenses, $300,000. Total expenses, about 6,000,000 

And, injustice to my workmen, I ought to say, without the use of ardent spirits, or ever 
having a side of leather stolen. 

A glance at this table will at once convince any one that the advan- 
tages of such an establishment are not confined to the amount of value 
produced. The labor employed directly or indirectly may be set down at 



7 

two hundred men daily. The ramified brandies of business and trade 
that it fosters ; the comfort, refinement, and intelligence, of which it be- 
comes the centre ; and its final influence upon the growth and populous- 
ness of the surrouning district, cannot, I think, be too highly estimated. 
The following table shows* but one single item — the amount of labor em- 
ployed within the walls, or that which is directly and immediately em- 
ployed in the process of tanning ; but, from a comparative inspection of it, 
and the table above, some idea may be formed of the amount of labor in- 
directly engaged. 

AVEKAGE NUMBER OF MEN EMPLOYED AT THE PRATTSVILLE TANNERY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, 
WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE WAGES PER MONTH. 

BEAM HOUSE. 

No. of hands. 

Foreman , 1 

Choresrnen 2 

Beamsmen 12 

IN THE YARD. 

Foreman 1 

Handling and laying away 8 

Brushing leather 6 

Nightman to leaches 1 

Grinding bark by day 1 

" night 1 

Wheeling bark 4 

Filling and pitching leaches 3 

DRYING LOFT. 

Foreman 1 

Spunger 1 

Rollers 2 

Hanging up and taking down leather... 2 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Foreman out-doors , 1 

Carpenter 1 

Teamsters 12 



Pa, 


r per 


month. 




$32 






$32 


12 and 


$6 board 


36 


14 




cc 


180 


50 






50 


12 




it 


144 


12 




11 


72 


14 




" 


20 


12 




11 


18 


14 




11 


20 


12 




(1 


72 


24 




it 


60 


20 




Ik 


26 


12 




u 


18 


15 




11 


42 


12 




it 


36 


41 




11 


47 


39 




11 


45 


11 




<( 


218 



Total , 58 $1,120 

500 cords of bark at $3 per cord , rm \ 50Q 

Cartage, repairs, &c, &c 500 



Grand total per month : <g>3 jgo 

In the following table I have given a condensed view of the operations 
at my tannery during five years : — 





No. of Hides rec'd 


Weight • 


CartLge in 




Total Value 




at the Tannery. 


of Hides. 


New York. 


Commissions. 


of Hides. 


1841 


30,984 


724,168 


$291 47 


$5,701 47 


$108,758 06 


1842 


27,194 


601,595 


275 89 


3,938 30 


82,705 01 


1843 


28,433 


630,192 


213 24 


4,425 64 


78,198 03 


1844 


36,839 


812,403 


276 28 


5,718 36 


100,972 82 


1845. . 


20,556 


460,798 
3,229,155 


154 17 


2,920 25 


51,176 60 


Total,. 


144,006 


$1,211 05 


$22,704 02 


$421,810 52 



LEATHER RETURNED TO NEW YORK. 

Av. weight Av. nett 

Sides. Pounds. per side. price. Commissions. Nett proceeds. 

1841 61,729 1,211,8564 19.63 14 44 $7,352 24 $175,018 54 

1842 54,323 995,057| 18.32 13 93 5,827 08 138,581 05 

1843 56,742 1,061,523} 18.71 13 60 6,053 42 144,331 83 

1844 73,590 1,310,779 17.81 12 55 6,895 25 164,517 53 

1845 40,891 737,789 18.03 11 06 3,420 57 81,595 26 

Total.. 287,275 5,316,789 18.51 $13 24 $29,548 66 $704,044 21 

I have been engaged over forty years in hemlock tanning ; and of the 
many books which treat of the process of tanning, none have been found 
which give any information of the mode of hemlock tanning. The bark 
has scarcely ever been analyzed for the use of the tanner; and the knowl- 
edge which I have acquired, has been the result of long-continued prac- 
tice and experience. This teaches one that the hemlock is much stronger 
than the oak. 

The tanning of leather, more than almost any other manufacture, is a 
chemical process, the success of which depends almost wholly upon the 
skill and judgment with which its complicated manipulations are con- 
ducted. To attain the requisite skill in the laboratory of the chemist, is 
evidently impossible ; it can only be acquired in the tanning itself, by 
long and careful attention and observation ; and, perhaps, there is no de- 
scription of manufacture, where more depends upon practical knowledge, 
and so little upon mere theory, as in the tanning of leather. The tan- 
ning of leather consists in effecting a combination between the gelatine, 
which is the main constituent of raw hides, and tanning, a peculiar sub- 
stance found in the bark of several species of trees — the oak and hem- 
lock, chiefly. The processes employed are so various, and quality and 
condition of the hides are so numerous and so different, that hardly any 
branch of business requires for its successful conduct a greater degree of 
judgment and experience ; and in few arts have there been greater im- 
provements. 

The following table is annexed, presenting some facts which may be 
of general interest : 

lo 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 

1836 2,151 48,130 22£ 6,594 7} 397 3,573 50,808 901,296 

1837 2,305 53,172 23 5,686 9 500 4,500 50,947 815,152 

1838 3,118 59,283 19 4,991 10 496 4,464 50,750 812,000 

1839 2,984 59,675 20 6,276 9 558 5,022 56,096 945,321 

1840 3,089 50,514 16§ 6,207 9£ 590 5,310 57,601 1,009,609 

13,647 270,774 20 29,752 9 2,541 22,869 266,202 4,483,378 

Note. — Column 1 shows the number of days' work in the beam-house ; 2, number of 
sides worked in ; 3, average per man per day ; 4, number of days' work grinding bark 
and tanning ; 5, average per man per day ; 6, number of leaches ; 7, cords of bark used, 
at 9 cords per leach ; 8, leather tanned out, (sides ;) 9, do. do. do., (pounds.) 

The labor in the loft and peeling bark during the above five years, 
was 8,820 days. One man will work through the beam-house in one 
year, 6,260 sides. One man will tan and finish 2,228 sides. One cord of 
bark tans 196 lbs. 

The question has been frequently asked me, how long does it take to 
tan sole leather ? I answer, from four to six months, according to the 
strength of the liquor and number of sides in the vats ; and the quicker 



tanned the better. 1 would here remark that several considerations must 
be noticed in order to meet the questions understandingly, and — 

1st. I should say that the weight of the hides, every, one knows, if 
heavy, requires more time than if comparatively light. 

2d. If the hides are fresh they are capable of being properly soitened, 
and if so, the process of tanning may be completed much sooner than in 
the case of old and hard hides, that cannot be softened with the same 
facility. 

3d. If the hides have sufficient room in the vats, so as not to lay crowd- 
ed, they will tan much faster. 

4th. As the tanning advances, the liquor should be renewed season- 
ably, and its strength increased in a ratio proportionate to each stage of 
tanning. 

5th. The question, is the leather to be tanned so as to barely pass in 
market, or to be well prepared so as to make firm and solid leather ? in- 
volves a consideration of much importance. 

It would be easy to extend this communication, but I will not tire the 
reader's patience with unnecessary details. Desirous of contributing my 
mite to the industrial occupations of life, I have thrown together, in my plain 
matter-of-fact manner, only such facts and figures as it appeared to me 
would be of service to my brother mechanics ; and if they prove so, I 
shall feel amply rewarded for the trifling contribution thus made to the. 
general stock of knowledge — as the design of life is to be useful. 
With great respect, 

I have the honor to be 

Yours, truly, 

Z. PRATT. 

The following tables I have added for the satisfaction of the curious in 
such matters : — 



SOLE LEATHER INSPECTED IN NEW YORK. 



Showing the total number of sides of Sole Leather inspected in the city of New York 
during the years 1827 to 1847, say 20 years; also, showing the nett value or price 
per pound of same, excluding all charges. 



Years. 


No. sides. 


Av. price. 


Years. 


No. sides. 


Av. price. 


1827 


265,553 


17£ cents. 


1837 


890,962 


16 cents 


1828 


284,978 


18£ 


1838 


749,556 


17 


1829 


264,878 


184 


1839 


772,255 


18 1-6 


1830 


326,298 


184 


1840 


638,112 


16^ 


1831 


440,000 


194 


1841 


687,101 


16§ 


1832 


667,000 


174 


1842 


886,868 


14 1-10 


1833 


882,609 


15| 


1843 


867,210 


13§ 


1834 


828,175 


13| 


1844 


1,048,770 


134 


1835 


784,165 


14| 


1845 


1,037,500 


124 


1836 


925,014 


17* 

HIDES — N 


1846 . 

EW YORK. 


1,074,256 


Hi 



Showing the number of Hides imported into, exported from, and consumed by the port 
of New York, during the yeaes 1827 to 1847, say 20 years, closing each year on 3lst 
December. This table includes Horse Hides, taken from Shipping and Commercial 
Lists and Customs. 



Years. 

1827. 
1828. 
1829. 
1830. 



Imports. 

259,975 

268,744 
'308,987 
475,640 



Exports. 
41,545 
48,369 
52,023 
26,305 



Cons'd. 
218,430 
220,375 
256,964 
449,335 



Years. 
1831. 
1832. 
1833. 
1834. 



Imports. 
772,299 
975,094 
892,198 
700,052 



Exports. 

8,017 

169,493 

58,282 

169,856 



Cons'd. 
764,282 
662,705 
833,916 
530,196 



10 



L'BRAFIY OF CONGRESS 



i^nnliiiibliilil g 
016 058 353 8 € 



BIDES — NEW YORK — CONTINUED. 



1:835. 
1836. 
1837. 
1838. 
1839. 
1840. 
1841. 



Years. 

1827. 

1828 

1829. 

1830. 

183.1.. 

1832. 

1833. 

1834. 

1835 

1836. 



868,381 
942,890 
623,925 
543,300 
561,105 
520,251 
633,269 



21,903 

109,273 
99,356 
25,695 
24,186 
3J.325 
4,245 



Imports. 

186,127 
290,512 
542,411 
514,260 
564,869 
351,897 
692,419 
626,189 
682,141 
479.107 



836,378 


1842. 


833,617 


1843. 


524,569 


1844. 


517,605 


1845. 


536,919 


1846. 


488,926 


1847. 


629,024 





BIDES — LIVERPOOL. 



Exports. 
29,001 

30,880 
128,449 
170,604 
138,220 
1) 1,4,50 

62,(500 
213,855 
337,444 
198,277 



Yenrs. 
1837.. 

1838.. 
1839., 
1840.. 
1841., 
1842. 
1843. 
1844. 
1845.. 



635,631 
653,431 
854,790 
777,640 
635,583 
990,454 



31,285 
53,6)3 
45,615 
53,633 
55,924 
15,236 



Imports. 

573,384 
503,896 
816,085 
643,785 
934,060 
666,974 
846.526 
800,871 
810,704 



From the census of New York, in 1845, we gather the following: 



C04.345 

599,788 
809,175 
724,007 
580,659 
975,069 



Exports. 
166,930 
102,000 
190,000 
170,000 
200,000 
259,265 
176,556 



'• 



The number of tanneries in the State. 

Value of raw materials used and manufactured in the State , 

Value of manufactured articles 

This is for leather alone, not including boots, shoes, harness, &c, &c. 



1,414 

$4,052,949' 

6,585,006 



/ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



016 058 353 8 • 



